Sarah Scherini (she/her) is an Instructor in Art, specializing in ceramics. She also interviews for the Admissions Office, coaches Recreational Basketball, and serves as a house counselor in Paul Revere House. Prior to coming to Andover, she worked as an art and ceramics instructor at various public and private institutions. In her free time, she enjoys visiting towns and beaches in New England and going to concerts and performances in Boston.
How did you first develop a passion for art?
I was absolutely one of those kids who wanted art supplies for any presents. It’s just what I did! First career day, first grade, I dressed up as an art teacher because I had a really cool art teacher. So, I wanted to do this since the first time I learned what a job was.
What makes the art medium of ceramics special to you?
Clay is a material which gives immediate feedback. It creates resilience. It helps you deal with setbacks. I hope it helps you realize that failure is actually part of the process and a good thing to happen. I can tell you until I’m blue in the face that something is gonna fall apart, but you will remember it when it falls apart on you. It also draws people because it is an art form that is functional as well as decorative. Folks who may not enjoy art for art’s sake will enjoy the opportunity to create something useful for them or a loved one.
What challenges did you encounter along your journey as an art student?
I did get really burnt out in undergrad when I was an art student, because I was pressured to work a certain way. Not sleeping was glamorized by our professors and peers alike. I actually didn’t make any art for a couple of years, which is wild, because I’ve been making art since I was old enough to walk. I had to come back to it and repair my relationship with it, but ultimately, I’m kind of glad that happened, because it has prevented me from being a similar kind of teacher that [would] glorify the grind instead of the joy too.
Why did you decide to teach art?
It took a minute. I did other jobs for a while. I was a bartender for many, many years. I wondered if I should teach, because I had art teachers in my home state of South Carolina tell me, ‘Don’t do it.’ Deciding to teach was something that happened in my late twenties. I went to grad school for it, and I was a little nervous about, ‘Is this going to be for me?’ My first day in the classroom, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is for me. This is it.’
What is your favorite artwork?
Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’, which is a triptych painting. Really weird. Feels very groovy and strange for the time it was created and painted in. There’s a heaven, earth, and hell panel, [and] the hell panel’s kind of messed up.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
A lot of it comes from science and nature honestly. I am so interested in how the world works. I’m interested in the micro-perspectives of things [like] the patterns that Mycelium makes [or] shells of bugs and crabs. Artists do turn to nature often. Also, I would say [to take inspiration from] your own life experiences. The best stories you can tell are your own. I do make art about growing up in the U.S. South and my identity as a queer person. Telling those stories is good for me, but also hopefully speaks to those who are experiencing similar things.
What are your favorite hobbies?
Reading, cooking, taking really long walks with my husband, and going out and exploring New England coastal towns and beaches, but in the winter when nobody is there. One of the coolest things to me is going to the ocean and [seeing] there’s snow everywhere. We are definitely big travelers in general, but local travel is my favorite thing, [like] those little day trips to a new place that you’ve never seen before. Weird things, like Edgar Allen Poe reenactments in a historic house when there were eight people there. [Also] going to performances in Boston, going to concerts.
What is your fondest memory at Andover?
It’s at the start of the school year when we are all feeling a lot of pressure, nerves, and stress. Everything is so busy. Our schedules are all overpacked. There’s things scheduled for us at every minute. And then I hear floating across campus, ‘Ms. Scherini!!!’ Those greetings with students that I’ve had [in] prior years that I haven’t seen, and watching [them] all grow up reminds me why I do this. So, I’d say the opening of school, getting to see kids again after summer, and everybody being excited to see each other is my favorite thing here.
What is something about Andover that you didn’t expect?
Even though I knew that the resources were amazing here, I didn’t truly understand the breadth of them and how specifically tailored they could become for us until I started teaching here… With the [Robert S.] Peabody Institute [of Archaeology], I knew we had an archaeology museum [but] I did not know I was going to [get to] go down to the basement and play Lara Croft and select actual artifacts and vessels with the curators to put on a table in front of my ceramic students, without glass in between them, so they could study them up close. That is exceptional for a high school.
What do you hope students take away from your classes?
I love it when a kid comes in and says, ‘I’m not really an artist’ or ‘I’m not artistic,’ and they walk away [after] like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m not so bad at this.’ I hope that they take away [that] trying new things that have a harsh learning curve, especially ceramics, can be gratifying and rewarding. I hope that they take something with them that, later in life, they can remember during times of stress or worry [is something] that they can return to.
